I agree totally with Doug in that once you 'arrive' at 'perfection' it
takes just small increments of maintenance to keep it that way.

Since the 'modern' two part finishes are the most resistant to
degradation, I chose to use one of them six years ago .... and my boat
has looked quite good for the past 6 seasons and without much 'rehab'
of the brightwork. Costwise in the long term they are probably the
least expensive with the least work; although, the initial cost is a
shocker.

Beauty is truely in the eye of the beholder .... some even like
butt-ugly thinned-out alkyd enamel with 'orangey' ferrous oxide in it.



In article , DSK
wrote:

Jere ,, what about the color? Lots of talk that the color of Cetol is
bad..
has that been a problem? Is this something that can be controled?


Jere Lull wrote:
Sailing is always choosing trade-offs.

Absolutely agreed.



Truth be told, few can tell the difference between clear and Cetol from
50 feet away; fewer cruisers care.


Now here I disagree on both points. Cruisers do care about
the looks of their boats. And if you've ever seen really
nice brightwork, it can easily be told from Cetol at 50' or
even 100'.

Is that small detail worth the extra work? Up to you.

Personally, I don't, which is why I don't work on the
varnish on our boat. In times past, I have maintained a few
wooden boats, two of which were in showroom-perfect
condition much of the time. Getting it there is really the
work intensive part, once it's there, it only takes a little
on a regular basis to keep it. But most people (myself
included these days) don't have the persistence.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King